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Martin Hewitt

Now known as a disabled adventurer, former Captain Martin Hewitt served for eight years as a commissioned officer with the Parachute Regiment, taking part in operations and exercises in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and North America. He was injured in 2007 in Afghanistan whilst leading his men in combat - receiving gunshot wounds to the chest and foot. These injuries paralysed his right arm and ended his military career.

Martin then turned to elite sport and represented Great Britain in the Paralympic World Championships, competing in Downhill Ski Racing making the record books several times as Captain of the newly formed Combined Services Disabled Ski Team, representing the military and Great Britain ski racing at the highest international levels whilst adapting to life with the use of one arm.

On leaving the military, Martin was asked to develop teams of injured servicemen to take on world record attempts. In April 2011 he walked unsupported to the Geographic North Pole joined by HRH Prince Harry as part of the Walking with the Wounded North Pole team which successfully made the trek (televised on BBC 1 'Harry's Arctic Heroes').

Martin Hewitt re-entered the record books in 2012 as the first disabled person ever to reach the summit of Mt Manaslu (8162m) and led a team on Mt Everest 8848M (also with HRH Prince Harry and televised as 'Harry's Mountain Heroes) as well as climbing Mt McKinley (6194m).

His focus is now managing the 'Fieri Grand Slam' team to climb the 7 highest peaks on the 7 continents and walk unsupported to the North and South Poles with disabled adventurers. They are attempting four world first events! He will also compete, for Help for Heroes, in the Marathon des Sables in 2014 - a self supported foot race covering 250 km across the Moroccan Sahara over 6 stages in 7 days. Terrain includes high sand dunes, wadis and hard packed desert crust. Competitors must carry all food and survival equipment and are restocked with water each day.

Martin now draws on his experiences and skill in military operations, elite sports and 'world first' expeditions to deliver presentations on training, motivation, mentoring, coaching, confidence building, team building and leadership skills to assist senior business management deliver their message from a unique angle and to help other ex-service men, sportsmen and those who need motivation to fulfil new careers. He talks about maximising performance, the effectiveness of teamwork and how to deal with adversity and challenge.

Martin is one of only a handful with experience in the arctic, the desert, at high altitude and in the jungle. The lessons he learnt in these extreme and hazardous environments and the obstacles he overcame provide real life examples of how to improvise and adapt to achieve ambitious goals. He inspires others to push beyond perceived boundaries to achieve the extraordinary.

HRH Prince Harry has this to say on Walking with the Wounded: "The aim is to enable our wounded to do what they and all other servicemen and women do better than anyone else I know - meet a challenge head-on and overcome it and inspire others to do the same. I'm absolutely thrilled that the guys have made it - what an awesome achievement. They should be incredibly proud of making this world record, as we are proud of them. I took part in only a small section of the trek, but know full well how physically demanding it was. The spirit and determination of these lads is second to none. They are true role models."

Martin: "I am raising awareness that our wounded and all those with disabilities are capable of pushing on post-injury and can go on to lead fulfilling lives. I've learned that, despite a debilitating injury, it is still possible to compete at the highest level in sport. Great expeditions and adventures are still possible, providing that we are willing to adapt, evolve and dedicate the time and effort to the task at hand. Through our endeavours we can demonstrate that one can still achieve great things. If one has support, drive and determination, a debilitating injury should not stop you from reaching your goals".

Testimonials: Martin talked about his experiences in the context of leading in adversity. He is an accomplished and humorous public speaker and the proceeds of the money raised from his talk will be donated to the Parachute Regiment's Afghanistan Trust charity for wounded soldiers and the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine Patient Welfare Fund

Martin is a great speaker whose presentation engaged us all. His fascinating story and positive attitude towards all the challenges he has faced was both motivating and inspiring. He tailored his presentation to focus on specific themes that resonated with our elite performance players and I would highly recommend him as a motivational speaker for any elite sports group or business. Lawn Tennis Association

I found the enthusiasm, knowledge and professionalism of you and your team to be stimulating and motivating. A lot was packed into the day and by necessity the tasks and exercises had to be easily understood yet impactful in order, not only to get the teamwork and leadership lessons across, but to make the event fun. I know that everyone agrees they learnt some really good points which they want to take into their work lives and even their daily lives in general. Medical Defence Union (Hospital Sales Team)

'Martin's seminar was quite simply outstanding. The challenges that he has undertaken and the obstacles that he has overcome are enormous. He really brings his story to life and all of our players took away some powerful lessons for overcoming barriers in their own lives.' Somerset County Cricket Club

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